NCAA FB

Christian McCaffrey’s work ethic is fueled by his classmates at Stanford

STANFORD, CA - OCTOBER 24: Christian McCaffrey #5 of the Stanford Cardinal's rushes with the ball against the Washington Huskies in the first quarter of an NCAA football game at Stanford Stadium on October 24, 2015 in Stanford, California

Stanford head coach David Shaw and the rest of the Cardinal coaching staff and players are still in awe of the talent possessed by sophomore sensation Christian McCaffrey. While they may be impressed, McCaffrey simply moves on to the next play.

“One-handed catches, making guys miss, finishing 40 yards into the end zone, it's just every day,” Shaw said, per ESPN. “And he comes back, and there's no fanfare. A lot of guys, 'Hey, did you see that?' He comes back and it's ready for the next play.”

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McCaffrey leads the country with 2,174 all-purpose yards and is on pace to break Barry Sanders' single-season record of 3,250.

Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan says that McCaffrey is a perfectionist and that his drive to succeed is unmatched.

“He is the hardest on himself of anyone on the team,” Hogan said. “It's even after he makes a great play: 'I should have carried the guy 10 yards further, or gotten the first down.' You see him get tackled at the 1. He's beating himself up because he didn't get that extra yard. It's just so impressive that he's so successful, but he's still not satisfied with it.”

As for what motivates McCaffrey to work as hard as he does, he says he's taken some inspiration from his fellow classmates at Stanford.

“I go to class every day with the future Facebook and Twitter and Google employees, the future innovators and entrepreneurs who might have the next big thing,” McCaffrey said. “Knowing that and seeing their success and work ethic makes you want to be successful. It impresses me every day. It humbles me, too.

“Most schools, the football players are kind of the kings in school. You get here and you got guys working on creating nervous systems for prosthetics and doing the most amazing things in the world. It puts you back down to earth.”